Impossible to answer I'd imagine. Everybody's tastes vary so much I think a straw pole of every member's preference might give you a statistical favourite but that would be about as close as you would get in my opinion.

Personally, hardware and flown artifacts float my boat.

Greggy_D

It really depends upon the individual. For me, it's shuttle flown with an emphasis on pre-51L flown items.

Gonzo

Wow. Great question. And I'm sure you'll get varied answers.

Personally, it's patches, with a preference to Apollo and Gemini. Why? I grew up as a young kid watching those missions. They influenced my thinking.

Why patches? Lots of reasons, but misleading simplicity is probably the biggest. On the surface, patches represent the mission and so much more. When you really look at them, the beauty and deeper meanings and representations become obvious.

tnperri

Me it's medallions that were flown or contain flown metal. At least those that I can afford.

james f. ruddy

Collecting has been my vocation and avocation for 60 years, (I'll be 80 years old on Sunday). I have learned one important lesson in that time, decide on an area of interest that you like then buy the best material that you can afford in that area and stay focused in that one area.

I started collecting "space" for 15 years and acquired only Apollo artifacts that were on the Moon. My past collecting history and current "space" collection can be seen here.

SpaceAholic

The most collectable would be ephemera (since that is the most prolific and affordable); the least collectable lunar landed material - the rarest/most expensive.

randy

In my house, it's anything I can get.

garymilgrom

Great question. I think postal covers or patches would be the most numerous items available if that's what the OP meant.

I've found my interests change over time - but while the program might vary, I'm drawn to hardware and art repeatedly.

Tykeanaut

That is a good but difficult question. I suppose artifacts flown or not, and it's definitely nice to meet astronauts and collect their autographs.

Fra Mauro

My personal favorite is autographed baseballs.

spaceman

James, congratulations for Sunday. What a unique collection of moon flown collectables and the General Store Museum, thanks for sharing.

Great advice too, none of us can have everything we would like in this or any other hobby so a specialism is the way to go.